Serbia's prime minister calls for criminal charges against England's players and staff as FA consider boycotting the country

Serbia’s prime minister appeared to deepen hostilities with England following
the rancorous under-21 international that ended in racist abuse and
violence, suggesting that England’s players and coaching staff could face
criminal charges for their part in clashes after the game.

Ivica Dacic, who is also Serbia’s police chief, was reported to have said that all those who took part in scuffles on the pitch in Krusevac should be identified and “brought to justice”.

Dacic’s intervention came as Uefa opened disciplinary proceedings against both the Serbian and English FA, and said it would investigate the racist chanting directed from home supporters at England’s black players.

His comments are likely to increase the FA’s sense of injustice at their treatment in Serbia, which has left them prepared to boycott any future matches in the Balkan state because of the level of abuse and intimidation directed at the squad, coaching and support staff.

England’s black players were subjected to sustained racist abuse during the game, with midfielder Danny Rose singled out for monkey chants after he was sent off at the final whistle, apparently for kicking the ball into the crowd.

Missiles were also thrown at the players, and violent scenes followed the end of the match, with members of the Serbian team and particularly the coaching staff attacking their English counterparts. Assistant manager Steve Wigley was kicked in the stomach and goalkeeping coach Martin Thomas was butted.

Experienced members of the England delegation said the scenes were the worst they had witnessed, and the FA has made a series of complaints to Uefa, through formal channels and in conversations with senior executives.

Remarkably the Serbian Football Federation rejected claims of racism, and blamed Rose for inciting the crowd with “vulgar” behaviour in a statement that defied the facts and suggested the organisation is in denial.

On Wednesday afternoon the FA passed a dossier detailing a string of allegations against their hosts to Uefa, and general secretary Alex Horne indicated the FA would consider not playing in Serbia in future given the hostility displayed on Wednesday.

“We were shocked and appalled by the disgraceful events that occurred in Serbia last night,” Horne said.

“Our players and staff were subjected to racial abuse, violence as well as missiles being thrown at them throughout the match. What occurred is inexcusable and not acceptable.

“We call on UEFA to take the strongest possible action against the Serbian FA, their supporters and anyone found guilty of being involved in the numerous instances of violence and abuse.

“No football team should be asked to play in any environment where racial abuse, violence and threatening behaviour is prevalent. We must question the validity of sending a team to Serbia in the future.” By contrast the Serbian federation issued a blanket denial of racism, though it did apologise for the conduct of its players and coaching staff following the defeat.

“Unfortunately, after the fourth minute of added time... unpleasant scenes were seen at the pitch. While most of the English team players celebrated the score, their player number 3, Danny Rose, behaved in inappropriate, unsportsmanlike and vulgar manner towards the supporters on the stands at the stadium in Krusevac.

"FA of Serbia absolutely refuses and denies that there were any occurrences of racism before and during the match at the stadium in Krusevac.

"Making connection between a fight between members of the two teams and racism has absolutely no grounds and we consider it to be a total malevolence.”

The statement was greeted with incredulity by the FA, which has documented a series of incidents starting in the warm-up, in which Rose complained of monkey chants, and in the tunnel before kick-off, where England players claim the Serbian team and coaches jostled and insulted them.

Racist abuse heard during the first half was reported to the Uefa delegate at half-time, as were complaints of missiles being thrown. At the start of the second half goalkeeper Jack Butland presented the referee with a collection of missiles that had been thrown at his goal, including coins, a lighter, stones and a seat.

In the second-half the monkey chanting intensified, and reached a crescendo at the end of the game when Conor Wickham scored the winner, and Rose reacted with a fist-pumping gesture to the crowd that had been abusing him.

This sparked a melee in which Wigley appeared to respond to provocation, and players and officials were showered with missiles. The Uefa delegate at the game is understood to have been hit. Serbia’s technical director, the former Aston Villa striker Savo Milosevic, came to the dressing room to apologise at the end of the game.

Uefa was due to receive the match delegate’s report, including observations from the referee, last night, and charges against both Serbia and England can be expected to follow.

There is significant pressure on Uefa to act firmly against acts of blatant racism and disorder, particularly as Serbia is already on notice from Uefa president Michel Platini following recent incidents. He warned the Serbian president in 2011 after a qualifying game against Italy in Genoa had to be abandoned because of violence, and England’s under-21s were racially abused on a previous visit in 2007.

Sports minister Hugh Robertson and the Prime Minister David Cameron called for strong action on Wednesday, and Piara Powar, director of the pan-European anti-discrimination body FARE which next week oversees a week of action at Uefa games, said bans were necessary for repeat offenders.

“I hope Uefa sends out a strong message,” he said. “I think there probably should be [bans] now, following the suspended penalty handed out to the Serbian senior team and the previous experience of England under-21s. It is a long list of contraventions, and denial runs deep.”